Ticklish
by dhufflebee
Summary: Do androids suffer sudden tickling? (Do people?)


_**Ticklish**_

 **Do androids suffer sudden tickling? (Do people?)**

«Do you think the Vision's ticklish?» Sam asked, out of the blue.

«What?!» Rhodey replied in a baffled tone; Sam just shrugged. «Yeah, why, this is the perfectly appropriate time to be asking POINTLESS QUESTIONS!» Rhodey 's sarcasm was making him breathe more heavily than he already was. They were running in the Avengers facility's gym, under Steve's and Natasha's eyes. «You should be asking instead why the Vision gets to avoid this far too much athletic thing we're doing!»

«Dude. He can literally _fly_ ».

«We _all_ can, actually».

«Yeah, but he can, like, go on hovering forever. He's half-robot, uh? It's not like he'll ever have to _run_ for his life» Sam answered, matter-of-factly. But hell, he thought, we wouldn't save ourselves if we were on the field as a team right now. The former Pararescue surely wasn't out of shape, but there was still room for improvement. Rhodey managed to run at the same pace as Sam, but he was evidently struggling more. Wanda's running had turned into a slow, sloppy thing somewhere around the twelfth lap.

«Come on, guys!» Steve shouted. «Stay focused! This is not high school!»

«Kinda feels like it, though», Sam said in a hushed tone. Natasha snickered.

«So. Do you think the Vision's ticklish?» Sam asked nonchalantly, while Nat poured the pop-corn into a big bowl.

She frowned. «I don't know». She grabbed the bowl and went towards the door that lead to the lounge room, and Sam followed suit. «He's an android, right? I have absolutely no idea how they work- err, feel?» She turned to the man with a questioning look, to which he answered with an even more clueless expression. «But» Natasha went on, approaching the other four Avengers sitting on the couch, «now I'm super curious».

«Shush! The movie's starting!» Wanda said, her eyes fixed on the screen. Nat graciously curled up beside Steve, winking at Sam. He grinned in response.

«Hey. Do you think the Vision's ticklish?» Sam asked.

«Oh my god», Rhodey exclaimed, rolling his eyes. Nat chuckled, while Wanda looked intently at Sam, probably trying to decipher if he was being serious.

«Mmh... I don't think I need to know the answer», Steve said, while shuffling through some very official-looking documents.

«Oh, come on! You're not even a tiny bit curious?» Natasha inquired, poking his arm.

«Not really» he answered, shrugging. «I mean, it's not like I'm gonna stop you from discovering it, if you wan- »

«Yes!» Sam threw his fists up in the air. «Now, the practical side: how do we obtain this piece of intel?» He looked expectantly at the others, but Rhodey mouthed "no", Steve was still reading those papers, and Natasha looked pensive.

«I'll get it». Sam smiled at Wanda, who nodded and left the room.

How difficult could it really be?, she thought. You want to know if he's ticklish, you tickle him. She entered the first room to the left, and found the Vision standing in front of a nearly empty shelf. (No, he's _hovering._ Hasn't stopped being strange yet.) She smiled a little and approached him as stealthily as she could, arms outstretched so she could tickle his side. She poked him, and her body immediately reacted out of habit: she shut her eyes and pressed her arms down her sides. A sharp pain crossed her chest - her whole body still remembered how fast Pietro's reaction was when being tickled, and how chaotic and painful the whole thing usually became. Her heart couldn't just stop _feeling_ Pietro, whatever time and her brain said. So she waited for the usual tickle, her body stiff. She felt a hand posing lightly on her shoulder instead.

She inhaled sharply, and opened her eyes. The Vision was looking at her, a hint of worry in his eyes. Wanda glanced down (Hey, he's not hovering anymore), and said «sorry» under her breath.

«There's no need to be sorry» he said, smiling. «You needed me and you tried to catch my attention. It's okay». His hand was still on her shoulder.

«Ehm...» Wanda blushed while trying to answer. «Actually, I was trying to understand if you're ticklish. Which you seem to not be, by the way». The Vision's expression turned into a confused gaze, so she explained: «You know, some people's body is more sensitive to sudden touch, so it's kind of painful and the body instinctively tries to protect itself and- » She trailed off, looking at her own arms, which she still had firmly around her.

«Is this why you're so stiff? Are you ticklish?» the Vision asked. She nodded. «But why? Did you think I would have tickled you?» His eyes were piercing, but kind and genuinely interested.

«My brother used to tickle me», Wanda answered, her voice low. (Why am I saying this to him?) «And I think my body hasn't forgotten yet». Tears were veiling her eyes.

She didn't mind the hand still gently pressed on her shoulder, but she surely didn't expect the hug that followed. It felt awkward at first, and a bit cold, but strangely comforting once she let go off her stiffness (mostly).

«Your whole being can't and won't forget him. And that's... right, I guess?» His voice resonated in Wanda's ear. (What the hell do you know about it? You're a robot. You're so _new_. I was there when you were being _made_!) She stiffened again, but didn't push him away. She knew he was right.

When the Vision let go of the hug, Wanda realized she had been crying. «The other Avengers are in the lounge room, aren't they?» he asked. She wasn't looking at him, though, so she could not see how worried his eyes were, even though the tone of his voice was light. She just nodded in response, and heard him exit the room ( _walking_ ).

Well, then, she thought, drying her cheeks with a hand. Ticklish, no. Kind and strangely comforting, yes. But she wasn't going to tell that to the others.

I'm probably not at my best writing serious feelings. I hope this fic gives the characters justice.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
